Current distributer and timer.



C. E HULLIDAY. CURRENT msmrsum AND TIMER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-4 LEHE.

HEME Z SHtElS lafvnfvd ihnu- *1, 1928.

Ni hm i M NH INVENTOR Clarence E. Hollidqy ATTORNEY WITNESSES C. E. HOLLIDAY.

CURRENT DISTRXBUTER AND Tan/15R.

APPHCATXON FILED MR4 ILHL.

Patented JunP 4, 1918.

IIIIIIIIIIII ATTORNEY WITNESSES ing my I useful Improvements in sparking terminals or CLARENCE E. HOLLIDAY, OF DUNCAN,

NEBRASKA.

CUB BENT DISTRIBU'IEB AND TIMER.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented June 4, 1918.

Application flied January 4, 1816. Serial No. 70,277.

at Duncan, in the county of Platte and State invented certain new and Current Distribthe following of Nebraska, have uteis and Timers, of which is a specification.

This invention relates, generally, to improvements in explosive gas engines; an the present, invention has reference, more particularly to an electrical appliance or apparatus in the form of a timer for intermittently making and brcakingthe electrical circuits and to preferably connecting the devices of a number of engine cylinders with the sonrceor generator of the electricity, ignite or fire the charges of the explosive medium in the explosion cylinders of a multicylinder engine. I

My invention has for its principal object to provide a novel device of the above nature designed to supplant and supersede the ordinary vibrators that are now generally used conjunctively with the induction coils, to the end that the making and breaking of the electrical circuit may be controlled at a single point and the eilic'iency of the engine, as a whole, thus materially added to.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type in question that is extremely simple in' construction, strong and durable, and highly practical from both the standpoint of the manufacturer and the standpoint of the user; and which, it is believed, may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost. 7

Various other objects and advantages will become apparent during the'contin'uance of the following description.

These objects are accomplished by such means as are shown in their preferred form" dlfitWll'i gs, described nin the accompanying the following specifi specifically pointed c aim.

In the accompanying like characters designate out the several views;

Figure 1 is a diagrannnatic view il1ustrat-' invention connected in circuit with a four cylinder engine of conventional'form and a series oi induction coils snchas are generally employed in connection with engines of this type.

so as to successively cation an dreamers out in 'the appended" drawings wherein like parts "throughtion 23. -Upon reference 1 the periphery of wide lag-' 2% which, being Arranged Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the timer shell orcasing, showing the same embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 3 is a view in cross section of the timers shell or casing, showing more clearly the relative position of my invention in conjunction therewith.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the timers shell or casing taken on line 4-41 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is adengitndinal sectional view of the timers shell or casing taken on line 55 of Fig. 4 in the direction indicated by the arrow head.

Referring now to the several figures of the drawings, the reference characters 1, 2, 3 and 4 'indicatein'thiS case, the four cylinders'of aninternal mmbustion engine, 5 designating a suitable frame upon which they aremountedand the numeral 6 denoting the crank casing tlliltii associated therehe reference characters 7, S, 9 and 10 indicate a of'in'duction coils, of a conventional type, either of the single or multicoil form, the reference characters 11, 12,

13 and 14 indicatingthe binding posts of or timer, consists essentially of a suitable easing compris ng a preferably cylindrical "bodyportion oi' shel-l formed with an end wire 21 which ismade with a socketed porto Fig. 2, it will be noted that thewidth of the casing 20 is approximately twice the width of an ordinary timer shell or-casing whereby it may readily accommodate the improved making and breaking: device such as will be subsequently described Atsuitable points about the casingQO, I may proin turn provide wiuwopcningsea may be utilized. for the purpose of attaching the device to a suitable supportn V. a 1

within the casing 20 is a ring shaped member, as 26 which is made of a suitable material or composition of matter,

such as fibrin-hard rubber-or the like, which isa'non-conductorof electricity, the said member or element being suitably secured in place by means of screws 27 which are passed through holes in the casing 20 and through the element or member 26, the said screws having their screw threaded end portions receiving suitable binding nuts 28, sub stantially in the manner shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. These screws 27 may be insulatcd from the casing 20 as at 29 whereby they may be utilized to conduct a current independently of the said casing. At their inner ends, the screws 27 connect with the contact blocks or plates 30 that are countersunk in the member 26 substantiall in the manner shown in Fig. 3. As usual, t e inner faces of the contact blocks 30 are concaved as at 31, thcrebv conforming with the circular contour of the inner periphery of the member 26.

As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the contact blocks or plates 30 are inserted with other bindin posts 32 of the conduction coils througi the instrumcntality of the conduc" tors 33, one end of the said conductors being connected with the binding 0st 32 While their other ends connect with t e screws 27 of the timer casing. Still another conductor 34 connects with other binding posts 35 of the induction coils and a post 36 of a source of power on the crank casing 6, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

A hollow spindle 37 is now arranged in the casin 20 which is to be keyed to a suitable guid e shaft (not shownl'whereb it may be driven at a speed approximately alf the speed of rotation of the crank shaft of the engine. The spindle 37 is provided at a certain point about its periphery with spaced bearing lugs 38 which bein connected throu h the instrumentality o a pintle 39 may Ea utilized to pivotally support a timer arm of suitable configuration, such as designated by the numeral 40. At one end the timer arm is branched as at 41 whereby it may be made to revolubly support a contact. roller 42 as at 43 while its other end is connected with one end of a spring or other tcnsioning member 44 in the manner shown. The spindle 37 further provided with a lug 45 that is preferably arranged to project diametrically opposite to the lugs 38 above referred to-and to which the other end of the spring 44 be connected as shown in Fi 3. Consequentlyit will be noted that the contact roller 42 will be held against the inner periphery of the member 26 at all times whereby during the rotation of the spindle 37 it willgbe brought into intermittent contact with the several contact blocks 30. In order to complete the circuit through the contact blocks, which is of course, essential to the operation of the device, I may connect the spindle 37 with the ground of the engine easin through the instrumentality of a condiictor 46, such as clearly shown in Fig. '1.

At a suitable point 11 on the inner riphcry of theorising 20 e. mount a carrying late 47, which, having a section of insulating material 48 interposed between the same and the inner periphery of the casing, may be secured thereto throu h the instrumentality of a screw as 49. The screw 49 may be passed through the insulating material and the casing,'such as elearl shown in Fig. 4 carrying another section 0 insulatin material 50 extcriorly of the casing, and ing formed to receive a binding nut 51 whereby an electrical conductor ma be secured there to in the usual manner. The plate 47 is in turn hingedly connected to a contact arm 52 as at 53 the latter being normally held under tension of a coil spring or other resilient element 54 which connects with the arm and the plate, while at its free end is provided with a spring contact member 55 as at 56. Adjacent the arm 52 I mount a second plate 56 which is also insulated with respect to the casing 20 as at 57 and secured in place through the medium of a screw 58 similar to the screw 49 above referred to. Exteriorly of the casing 20 the screw 58 is provided with a section of insulating material as at 59 while it is also formed to receive a binding nut 60 of the usual construction.

The plate 56' is suitably bent as at 61 to form a carrying extension, the latter in turn supporting an adjustable contact point 62 as at 63. The coil spring 54 above referred to normally retains the arm 52 in a position whereby the contact spring 55 thereof bears against the point 52 of the plate 56 thereby providing for the passing of a current between the respective plates, is obvious.

The screw 49 may now be connected in circuit with other binding posts 64 of the induction coils through the medium of the conductor 65 while the other screw 58 may be connected in circuit with other binding posts 66 of the induction .coils through the medium of a conductor 67. Consequently when the arm 52 is in a osition shown in Fig. 4, a circuit will be c osed between the conductors 65 and 67 res ectivcly and the several induction coils, t ereby providing for the making and breaking of the circuit throu hthe spark plug 15 of the engine cylin er.

WVi-th a view of properly operating the contact arm 52 at the desired moment in order to accomplish the making and breaking of the circuit through the several induction coils, I provide the hollow spindle 37, above referredto with an enlargled head 68 as clearly shown in Fig. 4. be head 68 is provided about its eriphcry with a. series of depressions 69 whlch in turn form a. series of spaced cam members as 70. I now provide the contact arm 52 with a carrying shaft 71 which is to be passed through an insulated portion 72 thereof, one end of the shaft carrying a contact roller 73 to engage with the periphery of the head 68, while its contact block at a point, substantially other end receives a fastening nut 74 by which it may be held in a secure position. It is further pointed out that the carrying shaft 71 may be provided with sheets of insulating material as 75 to bear against each side of the contact arm, substantially in the manner shown in Fig. 4. When the roller 73 seats in one of the depressions 69 of the head 68 the contact arm will be in a sition whereby the spring thereof Wlll bear a ainst the point 62 of the other plate 56'.

owever, w en in engagement with either of the hands 70, the contact arm will be held out of engagement with the point 62 as above mentioned.

The operation of my invention is substantially as follows:--The crank shaft of the engine being turned in the usual manner, prior to the startin of the engine, the hollow spindle 37 wil be rotated, as before stated, thereby causing the contact wheel 42 to move about the inner periphery of the element 26 and thereby have successive engagement with the several contact blocks. Consequently when the parts assume a'pos'i' tion as shown in Fig. 1, the respective contact wheel 42 will engage with the adjacent midway the end of the latter whereas the other wheel 73 will enter one of the depres-- sions 69 of the head 68 thereby allowing contact of the spring 55 of the contact arm 52 and the point 62. Immediately upon contact of the spring 55 and the point 62 the circuit will be closed through the several induction coils which will obviously cause the sparking of the respective spark plu this being the spark plugs 15 of the second cylin- (ler of the engine when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1. However this closing of the circuit through the induction coils is only momentary and is immediately broken upon the sparking of the respective plugs. This closing of the circuit occurs simultaneously with the contact wheel 42 reaching a certain point on, each of the contact blocks 30 thus providing for the spark-.

ing of the several plugs in proper sequence.

From the above it will be noted that the employment of" the arm 52v and its associated mechanisms eliminate the use of the ordinary vibrators on the induction coils, which,

as a eneral rule et out of order very easily. By e iminating t e vibrators on the induction coils and connectin g the resultant points with the screws 49 and 58 respectively, the desired result may be obtained.

This type of device is especially desi ed for use in connection with Ford automo iles although, as apparent, it may be advantageously used in connection with different types of engines and timers, should the occasion so re uire.

From the a ove it is believed that the advantages and novel features of my invention may be readily understood and therefore further details in construction are deemed unnecessary.

In reducing my invention to practice I find that the form referred to herein as the most practical and preferred embodiment is the most efiicient, but realizing that certain conditions will necessarily vary in concurrence with the adoption of my device, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in the details of construction and in the proportion of parts may be resorted to when required without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention as defined in-the ap ended claim.

avin thus fully described my invention, what I cfaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is;

A n ignition timer for internal combustion engines, comprising the usual shell,.insulated contacts and rotary brush, a cam within the shell and connected with the brush to rotate therewith and having cam elements corresponding in number with the insulated contacts opposed insulated elements mounted within the shell, 3. contact adjustable on one of the insulated elements, an arm hinged to the other insulated contact, a spring contact on the arm disposed to co-act with the adjustable contact, a spring pressing the free end of the arm inward, and a roller adjustable on the said arm and co-actingwith the said cam.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE E. HOLLIDAY.

Witnesses:

Lannnrvn KERN, JOHN Boss. 

